Government sponsored dependency

First, Deputy President of South Africa Jakob Zuma has been fired by President Thabo Mbeki for his role in a corruption scandal. This is great news for the country I believe. It shows that the government is serious about fixing the corruption problem here and the “get rich quick” mentality that plagues this nation from top to bottom. It remains to be seen what will happen to Zuma and Mbeki though. Hopefully this does not backfire on Mbeki politically or cause a schism in the ANC.

Second, the G8 has recently decided to forgive the debt of 14 goverments in Africa. However, this to me sends the wrong message to corrupt governments and from the top-down continues the cycle of dependency.

I think the fundamental problem with government and the services it offers is that they create dependency. For example, in the HIV clinic here in the Cape Flats, pregnant unemployed HIV positive mothers often come in for testing and treatment because they receive free drugs counseling and also get free food parcels for 3 months. When the food parcels run out, they leave often discontinuing treatment. Both parties lose: The government pays out this subsidy without the desired effect and the mother’s poverty and disease are not alleviated.

What is needed instead is something like microfinance which allows THE POOR THEMSELVES to take responsibility for generating their own income, build their credit, save and invest and stabilize their own lives. Unfortunately, this kind of grass roots effort has only been able to have a positive effect in the absence of these “FREE” government services. When a loan is put alongside a grant, the loan does not work.

This seems very related to the short term (corruption) mentality I have observed here where people think it better to scheme others to get money instead of making money legitimately.

I read an article the other day describing the Disability Grant policy which allows late stage AIDS patients to receive a subsidy of 620 Rand (about $100 USD) from the government. The diagnosis of what defines late stage HIV/AIDS is in the hands of doctors. However, often people will try to abuse the system, coming to the doctor only for the money but not for real treatment. This kind of attitude is short term, unsustainable and ultimately very damaging to the patient and his/her community. It also is incompatible with Microfinance.